Appature
by Kiwi ingenuity
Summary: AU. After the artificial intelligence in control of the Appature Science research facility goes haywire, Hal Jordan and his friends are tasked to create a new AI to replace it. But things quickly start to go awry, and the only one left who can help complete their mission is Razer, the troublesome new test subject.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, this is the first time in literally years I have written a fan fic for anything but Class of the Titans, so it will be interesting. But seeing as I've basically sold my soul to GLTAS it seems only fair that I write something for it. And it fits so perfectly into the Portal universe.**

**If you're on tumblr you may have seen some of my posts relating to this AU. I will be posting more art as the story goes on, which will all be tagged 'Appature'. The link to my blog is on my profile.**

* * *

A group of around five individuals had all gathered around a rectangular table. The room they were in was almost entirely white, though despite its clean paint job, the room was a mess. Cords, computers, disassembled machinery, hunks of metal, and masses of nuts and bolts were all scattered across the floor.

But none of the people in the room seemed to care. They were all working furiously on some sort of spherical, metal object. One of them, who was substantially larger than the others, was hammering at a hefty piece of metal in an attempt to shape it. His face was somewhat reminiscent of a boar's, though it was far less elongated. A young woman next to him was typing rapidly at a laptop, which was connected to the sphere via a small cord. She looked to be a normal human, with short, dark brown hair. Another man stood on the other side of the table. He had light orange skin, and what appeared to be some sort of bird beak. The boar like man next to him had handed him the shaped metal, which he was now screwing on.

The last member of the group was standing further back from the table. His eyes constantly watched the people in front of him working away. A smile was growing on his face as he looked on, nodding his head. He was quite happy about where the progress they were making. Then the bird beaked worker took a step back, before wiping his hands. "I'm done." The girl then put down the lid of her laptop, and unplugged the sphere from it. "I'm finished too." She remarked. Slowly they all took a step back from the table, to look at the completed work.

"Wait, you mean it? We're finished?" The man who had been observing them replied, shocked. They all nodded.

"Though that is assuming our calculations were correct, of course." The bird man added.

"Well, are we just gonna stand here yakking or are we gonna switch it on?" The group all turned to face the human man.

"Wait, you want _me_ to do it?"

"Well, you are the one who started this whole thing. You should be the one to finish it." The woman next to him said.

"Alright then…" He slowly walked up to the metal sphere. It was white, like the rest of the things in the room. Except for the two handles attached to the top and bottom of it, which were black. He leant over and pressed the small button underneath it. He held his breath, waiting for something to happen. A few seconds had gone by, and nothing had happened. Fearing the worst, he opened his mouth, ready to ask what was wrong. But just as he did, the sphere flared into life. A circle in the centre which had previously been covered by metal had opened. Inside it was a bright turquoise ball, with a white circle of light in the centre. The man grinned, elated that all their hard work had paid off. "She's working!" He said.

"She? Why is it a she?"

"I dunno. She seems like a she." 'She' momentarily closed the shutters over the turquoise centre, an action that seemed oddly reminiscent of a human eye. "So, what are we gonna call her?"

"Hal it's just an AI. It doesn't need a name…" The boar man commented.

"Of course it needs a- I've got it!" He turned back to the sphere. "Hello _Aya_."

"New designation accepted: Aya." The machine responded. "Hello Hal Jordan."

"Well, her facial recognition software is working." The young woman replied.

"What am I?" Aya asked.

"You're an Artificial Intelligence," The bird man was the first to answer. "You were created to replace the current faulty AI currently in control of Appature Science Laboratories."

"What is wrong with him?" It was then that Hal decided to interrupt.

"Well, he's bit of a dick. Went and killed his creators and now wants to eradicate all organic life."

"I do not understand. According to my database the faulty AI is referred to as the 'Anti-Monitor', not 'Richard'." He couldn't help but laugh at the robot's confusion.

"No, that's not- Forget I said anything."

"Well, it looks like she's working properly." Hal said, turning back to the other workers. "I say we take her over and get rid the old boss before he knows what hit him."

"Are you sure that is wise? We haven't fully tested 'Aya' yet. What if she turns out to be even worse than he is?"

"I don't think anyone could be worse than the Anti-monitor Tomar-re. Besides, if we don't stop him soon he'll probably just end up killing us before we can do anything." Hal replied, but quickly changed the subject as something caught his eye. "Hey Kilowog, what you looking at?" The said man was glancing around the room suspiciously.

"Do you smell something?" He asked.

"No I don't… Hey now that you mention it, it does smell kinda funny in here." The woman next to him began to cough loudly. "Is it just me or is it getting kinda hard to breathe in here?" In the background Tomar-re's body began to sway, before hitting the ground with a thud.

"Tomar!" Hal cried.

"I am detecting high levels of neurotoxin coming from that ventilation shaft." Aya stated.

"That stinkin' poozer found out about us!" Immediately Hal raced to the door and began to pull on it frantically.

"The bastard locked the doors too!" He kicked the door multiple times in an attempt to break it down, but to no avail. Another soft thud sounded throughout the room as another one of the workers collapsed. "CAROL!" He quickly raced over to the woman's side, only for the toxins to overcome him as well. In a matter of minutes all of them were reduced to lifeless heaps. Except for one.

"Hal Jordan?" The AI was frantically scanning the room with her eye like mechanism.

"Kilowog? Carol Ferris?"

"Anyone?"


	2. Chapter 2

Far from the turmoil of the employee offices, was the maintenance area. It was untouched by the ensuing chaos. Unlike the room the scientists had inhabited, it was far from pristine. The walls were grey and filthy, with some of the tiles missing. The only means of traversing the area was via a steel railing. It was so far off the ground the floor was clouded in a thick layer of mist. If one were to fall off, it would be far from pleasant.

But a young man who happened to be walking on the railing seemed unfazed by the height. Though on closer inspection, this 'man' was far from human. His anatomy matched that of a human, but his skin was pale grey. His face was lined with black markings, while his hair was dead white. The green jumpsuit he was wearing also indicated he was a test subject. A test subject who most certainly should not be sneaking around in the back areas of the premises.

Upon closer inspection one could also see a series of large square ventilation shafts throughout the large space. But there were also no vents. Whatever the pipes were meant to carry, they were not meant for this area. This was probably the main reason why the man was still breathing.

The railing was directing him towards the other side of the large room, where a small door was located. But as he approached the door, he noticed something strange about it. Appature laboratories was almost entirely coloured by dull whites and greys. It was not very vibrant. However this door had vibrant green lines pointing towards it. The lines were rough, like they'd been painted in a hurry. He walked up to the painted wall and touched it. A small blob of green paint attached itself to his finger.

He pulled the handle of the door, heaving it open. The dusty grey texture of the room he had been in was replaced with pristine white. And several more green lines. They appeared to be leading him somewhere. Seeing as he didn't know exactly where to go, he decided it was worth following the lines.

The strokes led him through many rooms, which were all very unfamiliar to him. Instead of the metal contraptions he had grown used to; it was filled with computers, desks and empty coffee cups. Another interesting feature were the large glass windows. Through he could see the rooms which he found much more familiar. It felt odd looking at the chamber from the other side of the window.

Another thing he noticed, were the corpses littered throughout the labs. There were no hints of a struggle, or any physical injuries for that matter. With no or little food around, poisoning was also out of the question. Whatever had killed them, it was obviously no longer a threat. Had that been the case, he would surely have suffered the same fate. None of them had seen it coming.

The journey was taking much longer than he had anticipated. What he had thought would have taken mere minutes was turning into hours. It felt like he was tapped in a never-ending maze. But just as he was about to give up, he noticed the lines changed up ahead. They all pointed towards a single door knob, which was painted completely green, and somewhat resembled a star.

Grasping the handle with his hand, he opened the door with a click.

* * *

**Yeah… Sorry the chap was so short. There isn't really any way I could make walking more interesting tho. The next chap should be much longer.**


	3. Chapter 3

A low creak sounded as the door was eased open. What greeted him was far from expected. The room was a mess. Cords and wires and metal and nuts and bolts. There was barely enough room for him to place his feet on the ground. Shuffling through the mess, he made his way into the room. It was then he was also met by more lifeless bodies. Having already come across many of these already in the hours he had walked around the laboratories, he was unfazed by it. But there were significantly more people in this room than in any of the others he had come across. Their bodies were all centred around a large square table in the centre. He approached it, thinking there at least might be some loot he could find in this place.

"Hello Razer." He shot upwards.

"What in the name of-" He frantically searched around for the source of the voice. Perhaps there were others that had survived? Maybe they could tell him what had happened? Something round and white underneath the table caught his eye. The curiosity fell from his face when he recognised it.

"Oh… It's just a robot…" He replied. The said 'robot' looked up at him.

"What do you mean 'just a robot'?" It queried.

"I _mean_ I was hoping it was some sort of sentient life form that could actually _help_ me." He snarled. "Furthermore, how do you know my name? I have never seen you in my life."

"I possess information on all Appature Laboratories test subjects. I am programmed to. You are Razer, from the planet Volkreg. You went missing from your test chamber 67 hours ago and were presumed to have deceased in one of the testing procedures." The machine's eyeball tilted slightly.

"Query: If you were not deceased, what happened to you?"

"I left." He responded bluntly.

"Why?"

He frowned. "I will not answer any more of your trivial questions, computer."

"My proper designation is Aya." She interrupted.

"Alright then 'Aya', if you know so much about this place, then tell me what happened to all of _them_."

"Oh…" Aya gazed at the lifeless bodies of her creators on the floor. "Neurotoxin was sent through the ventilation shaft. They did not survive." He could have sworn her voice cracked. _The computer must be malfunctioning… _

His thoughts were yet again interrupted by the infernal contraption.

"Why were you not affected by the neurotoxin? Your species does not possess any form of immunity to the substance. You were also obviously on the premises at the time of the incident."

"If you must know, I was traversing the railing that joins the laboratories with each other…" He turned back towards the door. "Now if you would please excuse me, I have better things to do than talk to you all day."

"WAIT. Don't go!" Its voice almost sounded, distressed?

"What do you want now…"

"I need your aid." He raised an eyebrow.

"And what makes you think I would be willing to help you?"

"Because, I will return the favour. You stated earlier that you were looking for someone who 'could actually help me', correct? What exactly did you require help for?"

"I want to escape this infernal prison." The machine's eyeball looked downwards, it made small movements from side to side. A small battle was going on in the robot's mind.

"Appature test subjects are not supposed to be allowed exit from the facility, but I am faced with no other choice. I possess a map of the entire premises in my database. If you are willing to co-operate with me, I will show you to the exit."

_Perhaps this robot could be more useful than I had thought… _"Alright, what exactly do you require my aid for?" He questioned.

"I require you to take me to the location of the Anti-Monitor, and replace his corrupted core with that of my own."

"Why can't you do that yourself?" He asked incredulously. The robot looked down at herself, and then back up to him again.

"I do not have legs." She waved the small bottom handle up and down to emphasise the point. "I suppose I have no other options…" Frowning, he made up his mind, "Alright, I will help you. I will take you to this Anti-monitor, and swap him with you. As soon as that is done, you will show me the escape route."

"Correct." Sighing heavily, he nodded.

"Where exactly is the Anti-Monitor?"

"We will not be able to approach him in our current state. I believe it would be wise to disable his neurotoxin emitters first, to avoid another event like the last one." She replied. "But to do this, we will require the use of an Appature Science handheld portal device. Which you do not seem to possess at this point in time…" Did her voice almost sound, irritated?

"I disposed of it, as my escape route did not require it. It would have simply been a nuisance." He snarled back. "So where exactly do you intend to get one of these?"

"It would be pointless to attempt to retrieve your previous portal device, so I suggest we acquire a new one form the production line. I will direct you to its location, but it is heavily guarded, and you will need to disable any nearby turrets." Her head tilted to the left slightly. "You prior convictions indicate you possess some fighting expertise. Am I correct?" A small smirk stretched across his face.

"Indeed you are."

"Then I suggest we leave immediately."

His hand wrapped around the robot's handle and lifted it into the air. A soft grunt escaped his mouth. She was much heavier than he had anticipated. It was not unbearable, he would manage. Slowly he walked towards the door, heading in the direction the small robot indicated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh god I'm sorry it took so long to update. I don't really have a legitimate excuse I was just lazy.**

* * *

The two of them had been walking for several hours now, and Razer was being to slow in pace. His breathing was becoming raspy, and his posture was sagging significantly.

"Razer, is something wrong?" Aya asked.

"No. I am fine." He panted.

"Your reduction in speed and excess intake in oxygen would indicate otherwise." He glared down at her.

"Alright…" He snarled, pulling to a stop. "It is proving to be more difficult to carry you than I had anticipated."

"If you would like, we could rest for a short period of time." He averted the robot's gaze, pondering the idea for a second. "Though it is recommended we reach the Anti-Monitor in as short a time frame as possible, it would be unwise to allow you to carry on in this state." He sighed.

"Fine. Where do you suggest we go? We cannot simply lie here out in the open."

"There is a small office over there," She gestured towards a nearby door with her lower handle. "That would perhaps be of use." Razer nodded and approached it. He opened it with his free hand, before kicking it closed with his foot.

Without uttering another word, he dropped Aya onto the floor and collapsed against the wall next to her. With his back pressed to the wall, and his legs sprawled out in front of him, he sighed heavily. He was about to close his eyes when he noticed the robot staring at him intently.

"Do you mind?"

"No." She replied cheerfully. "I find the sleep patterns of organic life forms to be highly intriguing." He groaned. Deciding to do the best he could to ignore her presence, he closed his eyes, falling asleep in a matter of minutes.

* * *

"Razer" A thin metal object smacked him in the arm. "Razer, wake up." A low groan escaped his throat.

"What do you want?"

"You have been sleeping for the minimum amount of time required for your species' brain to properly regenerate. We need to get going." Sighing he pulled himself to his feet.

"Alright… Where do we go now?" The small machine began spouting a series of directions towards their desired location.

The two had covered a vast majority of the journey already, and so only had to spend just under an hour walking. They were beginning to see a lot of signage now directing them towards the factory. As Razer began approaching the corner towards it, Aya cried out. "WAIT." His foot stopped mid-air.

"What is it?" She gestured her handle towards the wall to the right of them. If you looked closely, you could see a small red dot.

"Turrets." He frowned.

"This will prove somewhat difficult without a portal gun…"

"A paradox isn't it?" He immediately stared down at the robot.

"I was made aware that paradoxes were supposed to completely crash an AI's systems?" He said, recalling the posters plastered all over the walls of the laboratories.

"I told you. I was created to improve on the flaws of the Anti-Monitor program. They have eliminated all of those faults in the hope that I will not follow the same agenda as he does." Razer raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that aside, we still need a way to get past the turret." He placed the robot on the ground, and then slowly peered around the corner. The turret was now clearly in view. It was shaped like a thin egg, and was painted red with blue lines. Under any other circumstances they would not appear threatening in the least. But anyone who has faced them knows how deadly they can be.

The red line of light flickered towards Razer's head. "Emotions detected." His head shot backwards. Several bullets collided with the wall where his head had been. He let out a soft gasp.

"Are you alright?" He nodded. While trying not to stick his head out too far, he looked around the corner again. It was a fairly long hallway with the turret positioned at the end of it. There were no other doorways or exits along the way either. A mad dash down the hallway would be suicide. They would have to find another way into the factory.

Careful to avoid the turret's line of sight, he grabbed Aya and walked away from the corner.

"Are there any other ways into the factory?"

"No. Not to my knowledge." As they walked back the way they came, Razer paused by a door. _Maybe I can find something useful in here…_ He opened the door quickly and looked around the room. It was an office likely belonging to one of the scientists who previously worked here. There wasn't much in the room, aside from a computer, desk and empty mug.

One thing that did catch his eye though, was a large ventilation shaft. But it wasn't the ventilation shaft itself that was interesting, but what was painted on it. Across the front of it was a large magenta star, with an unpainted circle in the centre. The shaft was large. It would definitely fit both him and Aya, though it would be a tight squeeze. While balancing precariously on the table, he pulled off the grate. His hands immediately were covered in a thin layer of bright pink. It was quickly wiped off onto his jumpsuit.

"What are you doing?" Said Aya.

"I'm climbing into the ventilation shaft. The last time I witness paintings such as this, I was taken to you. Whoever is leaving these paintings is obviously trying to aid us."

"How do we know we can trust them?"

"We don't." He said calmly. "But do you have any better ideas?"

"No…"

With some effort, Razer hauled Aya into the shaft. He then, somewhat ungracefully, climbed into it himself. It was now he realised there was far less room in there than he had expected. Just enough to move. Aya's unconventional shape also made her difficult to push around. _If only she didn't have those infernal handles…_

By the time light began to reach into the cavity, Razer's knees were beginning to ache. Reaching over Aya, he pushed open the grate, which fell away with little effort. No screws fell away either. It was exactly like the first grate. Only cleaner. Razer's eyes squinted at the sudden bright light, even with Aya's body shielding most of it.

After his eyes finally adjusted, he began to lower down the small robot, before dropping down himself. He was now able to see around the room they were in for the first time. The walls were grey with filth and several rogue plants had sprouted between the cracks. In the centre of the room stood two women. One had grey skin, with a light green tint to it, and was significantly shorter than the other, who had light blue skin. They both had a few dark markings across various parts of their bodies, and neither were wearing the customary test subject jumpsuits.

But these two were not what had caught Razer's attention. It was what they were holding.

Portal guns.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews, and for JEN-M: I have most of them on my dA as well (the link's on my profile). You'll just have to search in my gallery for Appature and they should show up.**

* * *

He cautiously walked towards the two women, who had now caught sight of him. They had tensed up.

"Who are you?" The taller one snarled. "How did you find us?"

"That is none of your concern. Just give us the portal gun and we will leave." Razer replied.

"You think we would give away something as valuable as this, without even knowing who you are and what you desire it for?" The woman said, still holding a hostile tone. "And what on Zamaron is _that_." Her hand pointed at the robot Razer was holding.

"I am Aya, the artificial intelligence programme, and according to my database you are Ghia'ta and Agapo of the Star Sapphires. You originally worked with the guardians of Appature science in order to create functional inter-spatial portal technology. However after the project was completed they severed their alliance with you. I have no other data concerning your existing following that."

"They rejected us because we refused to follow the path of emotionless, unfeeling beings like the guardians and their horrendous, robotic creations similar to the likes of _you_." She hissed. It was then that the other, smaller lady spoke up.

"We refused to agree to using captured convicts to test their scientific advancements on. They may have done wrong, but they are still living beings."

"Then they thought it would be best to leave an emotionless robot in charge of the premises, and use those repulsive 'companion cubes' instead of allowing the test subjects to interact. Thanks to their low value for emotion, they're all dead."

Razer frowned at them. "How exactly are you alive? You are directly near a ventilation shaft. The gas should have killed you as well."

"We anticipated something like this a long time ago. After we left the guardians, we remained here in an effort to help free the convicts. As soon as we heard about their efforts with the Anti-Monitor, we blocked off all connections to the main neurotoxin supply. The easiest way to exterminate all living beings in these laboratories is through the vents. The shaft you accessed must not have crossed over with the neurotoxin's source pipe."

The one Aya referred to as Ghia'ta abruptly changed the subject. "Why do you wish to use our portal technology?"

"We require it to pursue the Anti-Monitor. 'Aya' here was created as a replacement for the robot. The sooner you give us the gun, the sooner I can get out of this wretched hell hole."

"They think replacing one emotionless machine with another will fix anything?" Agapo howled. "This robot is no different from the one currently in control. It will exterminate us all, just like the other did."  
"How can someone without feeling, without love, be trusted with the lives of hundreds of people?" Ghia'ta said.

"You're judgements of me are incorrect. I was created as an improvement of the Anti-Monitor programme. All of the flaws he may have suffered have all been corrected." Aya countered. "I do not want to exterminate emotional beings. I want to understand them." Agapo scoffed.

"I find that highly-"

"You have all made your points very clear. You do not like the robot. I would rather not spend my time listening to the lot of you bickering like small children." Razer said.

"We understand you require our portal technology, but we refuse to aid the quest of one such as that _thing_." Replied Agapo.

"If you want to escape the wrath of the Anti-Monitor, you could stay with us?" Ghia'ta suggested. Razer scoffed at the idea. "I'd rather take my chances with this 'thing' as you called it, than spend another day in this wretched structure." He looked Agapo in the eye. "And how much worse could she possible make things? The vast majority of the people here are already _dead_. Even if she destroyed the laboratories I could hardly say that would be a bad outcome."

"I had hoped we would have been able to reason with you, but seeing as you refuse to give up that wretched machine, we will have to take things into our own hands."

Agapo took the portal device from Ghia'ta's hands and shot at them. Razer ducked swiftly, and opened his mouth to retort at them, only to find Agapo was no longer in front of them.

"You seem to have forgotten the nature of this type of weapon." An arm wrapped his neck. It was now he noticed the pink portal on the ground she had been standing on. Desperately trying to allow airflow into his lungs, he grabbed at the arm. He released his grasp on Aya, who landed on the ground with a soft crunch. A loud howl of pain sounded, and the grasp on Razer's neck released. He slipped out of the taller woman's hold, and turned around to face her.

"You are going to regret this." He reached into the back of his jumpsuit, and pulled out a small dagger.

"Query: Have you been wearing that the entire time?"

"Yes Aya, now is not the time." He turned his attention back to Agapo. "I was sent to this place for a reason." He raised his weapon towards her. "I am very experienced in the art of swiftly cutting you to pieces."

"I find it highly unlikely that a mere dagger wielding convict will be a match for my advanced portal technology." Razer smirked, before flipping backwards. His body vanished into the portal on the floor. Agapo's head spun around, only for a foot to collide with her face. Her frame collided with the ground, the portal gun sent flying. With one swift movement he snatched the gun from the air, and swapped his primative dagger for the new weapon.

"That would be the case, if you were actually somewhat competent at using this weapon." He said. "And considering I have been forced to use this gun for years, I would think I would possess the greater experience." He shot another portal at the ceiling, followed by another underneath Aya. The robot yelped as she came hurtling towards him from above, before landing harshly in his arms.

"Now that we have what we needed, we'll be leaving."

"GHIA'TA! AFTER THEM!" Agapo howled. The younger girl, after fully realising what was going on, raced after them. Razer was already at the ventilation shaft, his gun pointed down it. Aiming carefully, he shot at the other end of the shaft. The chute was almost perfectly straight, and so the shot hit the room on the other end with ease. The two women were hot on his heels, but with one shot at his feet, he was gone through the portal. Agapo threw herself at the portal, but it disappeared seconds before her body slammed against the concrete.

"Should we pursue them through the chute?" Ghia'ta asked, gesturing towards the shaft. Agapo sighed. "No, it is useless now. He will simply have to find out on his own the error of his judgement."

"Hopefully we'll still survive to see his failure."


End file.
